Info: Old dogs may have trouble with new tricks, but now canine brainiacs can use the laws of physics to master their corner of the universe. Complete with technical illustrations, graphs, and formulas, this 192-page paperback book shows DOGS how to:

Bring down the mailman with the correct ratio of stealth & brute force

Of course, purification comes with consequences—or, at least, byproducts. What happens to all the gook the plant has taken out of the 350-some million gallons of sewage that flows through it every day? The stuff from the earlier stages is garbage, and has to be dumped in landfills. But the later sludge is reusable. To make it light enough to be trucked away, it gets processed in that giant boxy building with the centrifuges. Like the guides say, don’t go in.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The rolls of America's oldest old are surging: Nearly 2 million now are 90 or over, nearly triple their numbers of just three decades ago.

It's not all good news. They're more likely than the merely elderly to live in poverty and to have disabilities, creating a new challenge to already strained retiree income and health care programs.

First-ever census data on the 90-plus population highlight America's ever-increasing life spans, which are redefining what it means to be old.
Joined by graying baby boomers, the oldest old are projected to increase from 1.9 million to 8.7 million by midcentury – making up 2 percent of the total U.S. population and one in 10 older Americans. That's a big change from over a century ago, when fewer than 100,000 people reached 90.

Demographers attribute the increases mostly to better nutrition and advances in medical care. Still, the longer life spans present additional risks for disabilities and chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
An Associated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll in June found that more than one in four adults expect to live to at least 90, including nearly half of those currently 65 or older.

A majority of adults also said they expected people in their generation to live longer than those in their parents' generation, with about 46 percent saying they expected a better quality of life in later years as well.

Call for Nominations - SLUDGEYS 2011
Submit your nominations (anecdotes/fabrications) within calendar year 2011, factoring in the spring season + fall season, to the Awards Committee in these possible areas:

Best OBX Moment AwardCriteria: A memorable time at our happy, sandy place.

Best/Most Offensive Play on Offense (Individual)Criteria: Scoring is a big part of offense, but that’s not the only criterion for receipt of this award. In any particular game or period of a game, did someone exhibit mad throwing skills? Or incredible catching talent?? Or great cutting proficiencies? Overall common sense on offense?

Best/Most Offensive Play on Offense (Group)Criteria: Which Sludge group play best put up the numbers en route to Sludge’s total score in a particularly impressive game?

Best/Most Defensive Play on Defense (Individual)Criteria: “Our best defense is a good offense,” does not justify America’s military, so that pre-emptive crap doesn’t have a place here. The best play by an individual, which was most responsible for Sludge’s defensive success in a particular game.

Best/Most Defensive Play on Defense (Group)Criteria: The best group play that was most responsible for keeping the opponent from scoring.

Most Entertaining Point/Moment (on the field or sidelines)Criteria: A moment or point, in or near the game, that resulted in laughing, crying, blushing, delirium, and/or throwing up.

Spirit of the Game Award (on the field)Criteria: By the book, “Ultimate has traditionally relied upon a spirit of sportsmanship.… In Ultimate, the honor system works…” blah, blah, blah.

Best Spirit of the Game Award (off the field)Criteria: Karma; following the Golden Rule; by the Law, not getting arrested.

Best World Peace AwardCriteria: Best moment of someone walking away to avoid confrontation.

Most Improved/Worsened AwardCriteria: Did someone nicely recover from an injury? Basically, did someone smartly slow down the worsening process?

Best Food Offering AwardCriteria: Best edible offering based on taste, creativity, and appearance at either a game, Sludgefest, OBX, or pickup. Otherwise known as the ‘Bruce’ Award in honor of his delicious oatmeal cookies.

Best Story About ‘the Bestest’ Play Award (Fiction)Criteria: Awarded to the author of the best work of fiction about ultimate, injury, family or whatever.

Best Excuse for Missing a Game Award (Fiction or Non-fiction)Criteria: Quality of research and writing are major considerations in the judging of this award, as are insight and originality.

#1 Fan AwardCriteria: Any one, any one, at all that attends Sludge game(s) without stealing playing time from us. Cheering is not necessarily required.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

It costs exponentially more to field a varsity team than it does a club, but the camaraderie and competition are similar—and in some ways club athletes are better off.

In 2009, Oregon spent $1,116,214 on its 16-member varsity women's volleyball team. It also shelled out $1,022,859 for the varsity men's tennis and golf programs, which had 21 players between them. Those amounts are mind-boggling to Katie Weatherhead, captain of the school's women's ultimate Frisbee team. Her 20-member club receives about $4,500 annually from the university, then must come up with approximately another $18,000 to cover travel, uniforms and other expenses.

Not that she's complaining. "I know athletes who play varsity sports, and there isn't much difference," Weatherhead says. "We work hard and we play hard, and there is that same sense of teamwork and camaraderie."

SI's pay-to-play plan hinges on the belief that the benefit students get from nonrevenue varsity sports like volleyball and tennis can be had at a fraction of the cost by fielding only club teams in those sports. It is a notion likely to rankle many current and former varsity athletes, but a conversation with Weatherhead—or with one of the 65 players on the men's ultimate Frisbee team—would surely placate some of them. A senior geography major from Chicago, Weatherhead came to Oregon because of its ultimate program, which won the college women's national title in 2010. "It's a different experience, but I don't know that I'd change anything," she says. "We have gained a lot more life skills having had to work for everything, by not having anything handed to us. And isn't that what college is all about?"

After the team is selected, every player must come up with $500. The additional $8,000 they raise as a group by selling Frisbees, holding car washes and bake sales, and hitting up schoolmates on well-trafficked parts of campus. Occasionally the university pays the squad up to $300 to clean up the stands after varsity volleyball, soccer and basketball games.

The men's ultimate team receives about the same amount from the university and must raise $30,000 annually. Both clubs do everything they can to keep expenses down: Their coaches are unpaid volunteers, and the teams often pass up tournaments because of the travel costs. At away games the athletes crash with former team members or at the homes of players from the host school. "Couches, the floor, whatever is available," says Ian Campbell, the sophomore coordinator of the men's team, which finished tied for fifth nationally a year ago.

How much more does Oregon get for all the money it spends on nonrevenue sports compared to its club teams? Says Campbell, "Let me put it this way: I see more people around campus throwing Frisbees than hitting tennis and golf balls."
##

It has been said that "If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you have fed him for a lifetime." LiftOff, LLC, a Mid-Atlantic-based professional services firm, is taking that philosophy to the IT world with great effect. By deploying cloud-based systems with an educational approach, LiftOff is teaching clients a brand-new way to tackle technology altogether...

"The role of the IT Professional is changing. No longer does a company need to employ IT people to manage and watch servers. The days of monitoring blinking lights will soon be behind us all," said Brian Reilly, senior consultant at LiftOff. "The good news is that the role of the IT Professional is now elevated. IT pros know how systems work and can focus on deploying workflows that have a greater impact on operations. These workers are becoming more visible in the workplace and contributing to the bottom line."...

"It is all about empowering the customer," Reilly said. "We want them to understand what they have, how to deploy it and how to use it. The model doesn’t mean we are onsite doing all of the work. We have trained them and then we've gotten out of their way so that they can do it themselves with the confidence that they are going to do it right."

All organizations have a need for some level of security, scalability and reliability. Mobile connectivity is a critical component for many as well. "Office 365 is great for users that travel," Reilly said. "Not only can can they check their e-mails, but they also can access documents and collaborate with colleagues through SharePoint."

LiftOff has realized incredible success in the cloud and anticipates that businesses will continue to migrate away from self-hosted and self-managed systems.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

From the Match Game - one of the most popular television game shows in the '70s & early '80s- where contestants try to match the stars:
"Frank said, 'At the picnic, the Tartaglia brothers were a real mess, because they took the pizzas and used them as __________s .'"

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Most notable differences per AUDL 101:
The AUDL field is the size of a football field - wider, longer field with a shorter end zone. (53 1/3 yards wide + 80 yards long with 20 yard end zones.)
The AUDL games are timed, not dictated by points.
(Four quarters of 20 minutes each; Halftime = 15 minutes.)

More:Substitutions: Can be done after a timeout is called; not just after a score.
Pivot: If the pivot foot is lifted, possession is lost; not a violation.Stalling: Seven seconds to throw the disc to a teammate; not 10 seconds.
Travelling: 10-yard penalty against the offense; not a violation.
Overtime: 5 extra minutes of game time.

Saturday, November 05, 2011

:Game 1:
The day started on the shady side of the two fields. The chill in the air didn't stop Sludge from a red hot start, 1-0.
The slight wind and tight D didn't hurt either. Jen had a knockdown against SAIS Matters which led to a Sarah score, 4-2.

Sludge benefited from converting defensive turnovers into scores. Christy caught many scores, with a memorable one up the line from a sliding forehand from Chris, 6-2. 7-2 half.

Russ played in his first game of the fall 2011 season.

Sludge stayed hot like Jen's hot chocolate in the second half as Andrew hammered to Mike, 11-3. Win 13-5.

:Game 2:Sludge continued their D-ominance with a 2-0 lead. Brown's zone dictated the game pace early on the sunny field, and resulted in Disc Toast changing from blue to white. After a very short pull, the game shifted to 2-1, 2-3.

At 4's, brown found their momentum with a Sarah-to-MicHael-to-Russ connection; Charlie-to-Joe-to-Christy score; & Nigel-to-Andrew-to-Jen. A luckier-than-good phase kicked in as Sludge took half 7-4.

At 8's, Matthew wound up his forehand for consecutive scores - once to Chris; another to Steve. The game ended with a beautiful dump to Christy and swing to Andrew for a score by Sarah. Win 12-8.

:Game 3:
After playing 38 points in the morning (2-0), Sludge had 2 more games. The bye was not kind to Sludge bodies.

Against the #1 seed, Sludge jumped to an early (and prideful) lead. During this energized first point, Dance Cafe was pushed back to their end zone and could not move the disc against the mighty Sludge zone that has been perfected for 27 seasons. Nigel caught the turnover and flipped a score to Brian, 1-0.